Navigation and service

29 March to 1 April 2024

The German National Library will be closed at both locations. The exhibitions of the German Museum of Books and Writing will open from 10:00 to 18:00.

All bibliographic data from the German National Library and the authority data from the Integrated Authority File is available free of charge for general use in according with our business modell under the terms of Creative Commons Zero (CC0 1.0).

Which metadata is available?

The metadata provided by the German National Library includes current and retrospective bibliographic data for individual series in the German National Bibliography, authority data from the Integrated Authority file, metadata from the German Union Catalogue of Serials, and data on new releases. An overview of access options and the available export formats is available here.

How can I obtain data?

Users can download metadata in the standard formats. The German National Library provides the option of accessing free metadata via its online interfaces as well as via WWW or SFTP server. In addition, registered users can research metadata in the catalogue and download it for further processing in their own system via the data shop. In addition to these basic services, we also provide individual, fee-based access to metadata via WWW or SFTP server. An overview of access options and the available export formats is available here.

Which export formats are available?

Metadata is available in MARC 21 (also in XML structure) and RDF formats (various serialisations) and in some cases in BIBFRAME. The DNB Casual and CSV formats are available for bibliographic data only. All formats are offered in UTF-8 decomposed character encoding. Since 1 October 2015, the descriptive cataloguing of bibliographic data at the German National Library follows the “Resource Description and Access” (RDA) rules. The individual series of the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie (except for series O) and the New Release Service (ND) are also available in PDF format. An overview of access options and the available export formats is available here.

How can I contribute to the Integrated Authority File (GND)?

The Integrated Authority File (GND) is the largest collection of cultural and research authority data in the German-speaking countries. Originally used as a work tool in libraries its importance as a central network hub is growing as the process of digital transformation progresses.

EFA24@DNB

Are you interested in the metadata and free collections of digital objects available at the German National Library? Do you want to use our data to catalogue your collection? Are you interested in data analysis? Do you want to know how to access and analyse our data? Or are you new to this field and keen to learn more?

“Cataloguing, research, analysis: an virtual day for information on our metadata and free collections of digital objects” (EFA24@DNB) will take place in autumn 2024.

If so, we invite you to find out about our metadata and free collections of digital objects and let us show you the variety of ways in which they can be used, analysed and visualised.

Looking back on EFA23 @DNB

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